Sweet Revenge
by CPO-AE
Summary: Ruka finds the courage to try and get 'revenge' for all the years of blackmailing torment. His plans change though, and he discovers another meaning of 'revenge'. Rather fluffy Oneshot. Ruka X Hotaru. Rated T


Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice… Or that Quote… But they are both awesome.

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"_Don't get mad, get even…"_

_--Robert F. Kennedy_

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He inhaled a deep breathe, the puff of air catching in his throat involuntarily. His hand slowly moved forward, encroaching on the single brass doorknob that protruded from the tall wooden door. If he didn't know any better, he would have believed that an evil dark aura spilled out from the cracks. But, Ruka Nogi was not insane, and would not allow himself to succumb to any sort of delusion. Nor would he allow any segment of fear to interrupt his _carefully_ thought out plan.

Wait… This wasn't exactly carefully thought out, even Ruka would admit that. It was one of those 'spur of the moment' type of ideas. Basically, he decided to seize the opportunity that had fallen into the palms of his hands. It was like striking gold, and he would not leave the gold lying around and risk losing it, since he would most likely never stumble upon gold again. This, he would admit. But, he couldn't help but feel worried. Deep in his chest, he knew something was bound to go wrong.

By this time, his hands had reached the doorknob. His fingers wrapped around the cold metal, gripping it tightly in a slightly trembling hold. Just slightly though, but this he shoved out of his mind, not allowing the thought to discourage them. This was something he _had _to do. It would end his suffering, or so he hoped.

Finally, releasing the breathe he had not realized he had been holding, he slowly turned the doorknob, and creaked the door. Slowly, slowly… Very slowly. Ruka was worried it might take him until morning to open up the door, but he managed to get it opened to the point where he could stick his head through, and see into the well lit room. It almost seemed as if the occupant of the room was still wide awake, but there was overwhelming silence which signaled to Ruka that the occupant was indeed asleep. The only real noise his ears could catch was the hum of machines, computers, and the buildings heater which was just starting up.

With hesitation, Ruka took in one more deep breath, but released this immediately, and slowly slipped through the gap in the door. Though, a slip of the foot caused the door to open just a little more, and quietly squeaked. His blood ran cold, and he stood frozen. Would he be detected?

He heard a small sigh come from the corner of the room. His bright aquamarine eyes closed tightly, and his back pressed against the cold, metallic wall. A shudder trailed up his spine, followed by a ringing in his ears. He was ready, bracing himself for whatever form of punishment he was about to receive. He knew that she would not be happy, once she found him trespassing in her personal laboratory.

But, the blow to the head he had been expecting never came. Ruka slowly opened a single eye, peering towards the opposite side of the room, where a single desk with several computer screens stood, pressed against the wall. There, Ruka saw a figure, sitting in the chair, arms folded over the top of the desk and head nestled on her arms. He slowly relaxed now that he realized, much to his satisfaction, that she was still sleeping.

'_Perfect,' _Ruka thought, and graced his face with a relived smile. He took a single step away from the wall, and reached into his pocket. With a single, smooth tug, Ruka pulled a small, slim camera from his pocket, and raised both his hands to the center of his chest. His fingers fidgeted with the buttons, turning the device on. With each passing moment, his smile grew, until his bright and white teeth were showing through his grin. He felt giddy with excitement, and struggled to hold in the laugh that threatened to erupt. No, Ruka is not a malicious person, he is just happy. The feeling that a plan was going to come together, and the feeling that his mission might be accomplished made him feel happy. Especially, something as daring as this…

Counter-blackmailing the Hotaru Imai was certainly a big feat. No one would dare do something like that… Except for Ruka. What possessed him to make a decision like this, even he did not know.

But now, it seemed like his first step would be easily accomplished! Sneak into her Laboratory or room once she had fallen asleep and quickly snap a photo of her. Since Hotaru was always stoic and emotionless, it was nearly impossible to capture some sort of odd Photo when she was awake, and he'd probably be shot by the infamous 'Baka Gun' before he'd be able to press camera's shutter.

So, Ruka carefully stepped forward again. Seeing as how small the Laboratory was, it only took Ruka a few seconds to quickly, but quietly, sneak across the room. He was now standing next to the desk where the 'Ice Queen,' as she was often called, had accidentally dozed off while researching something on the computer. He couldn't help but glance at the shining screens on the desk, noticing several different pictures of rabbits. This intrigued Ruka. Why would Hotaru Imai be looking at pictures of rabbits? He would never think of her as a person who enjoyed gazing at cute, fluffy things in her spare time. Of course, that was ridicules. Her inventions, majority of the time, were based on animals of all kinds. Ruka shook his head slightly, mentally smacking himself for thinking such a thing.

He knew this cold, calculating girl all to well. The two of them had been stuck in the same corrupt Alice Academy for the past five years. They had been through a lot, with their two best friends Mikan and Natsume. But, the corrupt academy became to much for Mikan, and she left with her mother, in order to escape the hold of the Academy. Natsume was also sent with Mikan, to leave the academy and it's terrors behind. Since then, no one has seen the two, and can only hope that they are doing well. With the lose of both of their best friends, Ruka and Hotaru had become friends. They would not say 'best' friends exactly, but they had certainly grown closer over the past four years. Hotaru had continued using him as means of profit, while he would try and stop her. Regardless, they never hated each other.

Ruka eventually came to terms with his feelings, and realized that he had fallen in love with his stoic companion. Actually, he had realized this stunning feeling not to long after Mikan and Natsume departed from the Academy. Sure, he did have a crush on Mikan, but that was just a crush, nothing more. He could sense some difference between these two feelings.

But, he had never mentioned this feeling to Hotaru, and believed that he would never be able to do such a thing. He had continued to blackmail him, which had caused some awkward moments between, and Ruka had tried hinting his feelings once or twice, but they went unnoticed.

Ruka shook his head, releasing the thoughts from his mind, and focusing on the big picture. He was here, in Hotaru Imai's Laboratory, preparing to take a photo of her sleeping face. He needed to focus. He didn't want to die yet… Or worse, and end up castrated. Though he did know, if he actually had the guts to show anyone the picture he was preparing to take, that he would end up in pain.

His grip tightened slightly on the camera, and his eyes were pulled from the computer screen, and veered down towards the sleeping girl. He couldn't help but feel the guilt, rising into his chest, and settling like a large, heavy brick. She looked so peaceful. So innocent. Was this a horrible thing to do? Then again, she would capture horribly embarrassing pictures of him. Maybe he wouldn't do this? But then again, he could hide it from the public and just use it as a sort of ransom to get her to stop blackmailing him?

Wait… That's real blackmail. Now that he thought about it, Hotaru really never blackmailed him. She was more like one of those paparazzi people. There was the time when she had used the photo to force him to help Mikan with her problems. But that was only once or twice. Not very often.

Ruka was rather confused with himself now. What was he going to do? He could walk away and simplify things, or he could take the opportunity to make her cease her Photo Productions.

He sighed. He hated feeling like this, so indecisive and seemingly guilty. He fidgeted with the camera as his eyes scanned around the room. He was becoming rather fidgety. He had to decide.

His eyes feel once again on Hotaru. Her eyes closed in a soft slumber, her mouth forming a small 'o' shape as her breathe came out in a steady, and quite rhythm. Her face seemed serene and peaceful. It was different from her usual stoic expression. And the way that the light from the computer screens illuminated her face and her hair. It almost made her seem angelic. Such a rare sight indeed… So, Ruka decided that he was going to take the picture. What he was going to do with it, he did not exactly know, and only time would tell.

In a rather swift manner, Ruka raised the camera in front of his face, his eyes looking at the digital screen which began to focus on Hotaru's face. Once the camera had caught it's focus, Ruka's finger pressed down lightly on the Shutter button, and so, with a bright flash, the camera caught it's picture.

Wait… A bright flash? A little to late, but Ruka had then realized that he had forgotten to turn of the flash…

"Shit," Ruka cursed under his breathe. He didn't even take a second to look at his 'victims' face, and spun around on his heels, taking a few swift steps forward before something cold and strong gripped the upper part of his arm. He wasn't expecting such a swift reaction. He knew, at this point, he was doomed to a horrible death.

He, very slowly, turned his head around, finding two amethyst eyes staring intently at him. Her head was slightly raised off the table, while one arm still rested in a folded position on the desk. Her other arm, was pointing forwards him, and in her hand was a red handle, and extending from that handle was a thin silver rod, and at the end of that rod was a perfectly crafted, metal hand. If it had not been the distinct silver color of metal, then Ruka might have thought that it was a human hand. It's grip was rather powerful too, Ruka didn't think he would easily be able to pull himself from it's grasp. He gulped, and looked back into Hotaru's eyes, which he noticed seemed rather clouded with fatigue. He had guessed she wasn't a morning person, or in this case a night person, since it was still dark outside.

"G-good morning, Imai." Ruka stuttered slightly, trying his best to sound seemingly innocent and clam, but that had been a wasted effort.

"What are you doing here, Nogi?" Hotaru asked in a rather flat tone. She slowly pushed herself up into a full sitting position, and turned in her chair to face Ruka.

"O-oh? What am I doing here?" His voice cracked with surprise, and his hands moved behind his back, as he hoped that she had not seen the camera. "I-I'm not really doing anything. I was just in the a-area… and…" His voice trailed off slowly. He had no real excuse.

Hotaru's eyes narrowed slightly, but the stoic look on her face remained. "You think I didn't see the camera Nogi?" Again, her tone was flat, sending a worried shiver down Ruka's spine. There was no way out of this.

"Oh… The Camera… It's nothing, just something I carry around…" Ruka knew she wouldn't believe it, but hey, it never really hurts to try.

Hotaru shook her head. "I know what you are doing Nogi. You're here to get revenge for all the photos." Ruka shook his head, and opened his mouth to speak, but Hotaru was not finished with her statement and continued. "I don't care if you do. You can do whatever you want with that." She let out a small yawn, and retracted the metal hand from Ruka's arm. He was free.

But, Ruka was rather shocked to find out that she didn't care. He had believed that she would be very upset with this. "Imai?" He muttered in his state of confusion.

"Hmm?" Was her quite reply as she turned around in her chair, folding her arms on the desk and resting her head over her arms. Ruka guessed that she been busy with some sort of invention, and was feeling rather tired.

He stepped forward, standing next to her once again. "Are you really okay with it? What do you think I'm going to do with this picture? Won't it hurt your reputation, or something like that? Will you hate me? Why are you--" He was preparing to ask more questions, but her voice quickly interrupted him.

"You ask to many questions. Just take it and go. I could care less what you do with it or what happens to my 'reputation.' I won't hate you, as long as you leave me alone now. You interrupted my sleep, so if you don't mind, I would like to continue it.

Ruka was at a loss for words. He was feeling so confused. His head was spinning slightly as he tried to gather his composition. "I'm sorry." Those were the only words his mind could come up with at this time. She lightly shrugged her shoulders, as she nestled her head into her arms, more comfortably.

"I won't show anyone the picture… I'll even delete it if you'd like. I-I feel really bad doing something like this…" He muttered.

"I'm always doing the same to you, Nogi. Feeling guilt makes one weak." Was Hotaru's response. Ruka had almost missed her words, which had been muffled in her sleeves fabric.

"Yeah… I know you do, but I guess I don't really care anymore." He placed the camera into the side pocket of his blue plaid pants. "What you did really wasn't blackmail, but it wasn't a good thing either. But, I think I'd rather find a different way to get my 'revenge' for the years of your photos." Ruka could not believe what he was saying. Confusion was getting the better of him at this time, and there was only one thing on his mind at this time. He knew what he was thinking, but really, he could _not _believe what he was thinking, or what he was planning to do. _He just could not._

Hotaru sighed. "Do whatever you feel like, Nogi. Just let me get some sleep."

He felt his heart skip a beat. "I will… In just a minute. But, can you please sit up really quick, H-Hotaru?" It felt so strange, saying her name. Sure, they had been friends for over five years, but they had always addressed each by last names.

Hotaru was rather surprised. It felt odd, hearing him say her name. _Him _of all people. She felt an odd flutter form in her chest as she sat up in her chair, brushed her bangs behind her ear and faced the blonde haired boy, who was still standing right next to her.

Hotaru's deep purple eyes met his light blue. Ruka fidgeted with the seams of his pants. The edges of his lips twitched slightly, and slowly formed into a small smile. "I really hope you're not going to kill me." He muttered in a sarcastic matter. Her face remained the same, emotionless and slightly confused. But she said nothing.

Ruka took in a small breathe, taking one step closer, closing the already small gap between them. He bent his head forward, hesitantly. Their eyes were still locked and unblinking. Hotaru made no movement, except tilting her head to look up at Ruka.

Even with Ruka's hesitation, it did not take long, before his lips reached hers, and gently brushed. It could hardly be called a kiss, but Ruka merely wanted to 'test' how it felt. It made him feel overrun with joy, a sweet sort of feeling swirled in his head, and his heart urged him to stop hesitating. He guessed Hotaru must have felt the same, for she remained unmoving, their faces only inches apart after the slight touch of the lips. Hotaru then raised her arms, and wrapped them around Ruka's neck in a loose manner. Ruka couldn't help but smile, taking that as a sign that she didn't mind. His arms found their way around her small waist, and he moved forward, his lips pressing against Hotaru's.

He realized that she seemed to be rather unresponsive, which worried him, so he pressed a little more, urging her to return the kiss, or at least push him away if she did not want the kiss. He was rather surprised when he felt her return the kiss, in her own soft and gentle way. He couldn't help but smirk inwardly. The cold and emotionless Hotaru Imai wasn't always so tough. It was odd, seeing such a vulnerable, but it was cute.

The kiss was rather sweet and innocent. In all honesty, it was their first. But Ruka couldn't help but want to experiment. He was a guy after all, and at the age of sixteen, he was full of hormones and such. So, his lips, which were still pressed against hers, slightly parted, and his tongue lightly slide across her bottom lip. She must have been rather surprised, for her lips parted as well, and she let out a little gasp.

Ruka's tongue snaked into her mouth, but not for long. She quickly bit down on his tongue, not enough to actually draw any blood, but enough to cause a sharp pain. Ruka gasped audibly, and the two parted, both panting from the lack of air.

"H-Hotaru, why did you…?" His voice trailed off as his eyes scanned her face for some sort of answer. He could see a slight red color evident on her cheeks, and her eyes were a bright mixture of emotions, most of which Ruka could not identify her. '_Guess that must have pissed her off… I had a feeling something like this would happen.'_ Ruka thought, and mentally (because he did not want to look like an idiot) slapped himself for doing such a thing.

"I don't like surprises," Hotaru stated "That's why. Besides, who would have thought 'bunny boy' would ever have the guts to do something like that?" She laughed in a quite, musical sort of tone. Another rare thing to witness. Ruka, again, felt his heart leap.

Their arms were still wrapped around one another, Hotaru's arm loosely enclosed around Ruka's neck, and his arms pulled protectively around her waist. He couldn't help but tighten his hold a little more, and bring his face closer to hers, their foreheads now touching, eyes locked in an amused stare. Ruka let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, Hotaru. Next time, I'll give you a warning." Ruka said through a joyful grin.

Hotaru gave him a questioning stare, and raised a single eyebrow slightly. "Next time?"

Ruka's grin fell slightly. "Oh… Err…" He struggled for composure. "I guess, that's only if you would ever… allow a next time?" It wasn't much of a response, but more along the lines of a question.

Hotaru's questioning stare fell, and become a soft smile. "Maybe… Just maybe, Ruka." Though saying his name at this moment was of no importance, she had the odd urge to say it. And it surely felt odd saying that name, but it rolled off her tongue as if it was meant to be.

Ruka's joyous grin return again, and he closed the distance between their lips once more. It felt less awkward this time, and he felt respond without much hesitation. This time, it was short and innocent. One might even call it sweet.

Once they had separated Ruka pulled her into a tight embrace. "I love you, Hotaru. I guess I always have…"

Hotaru was quite for a moment, her mind processing what she had just heard. She had guess, from his actions only moments ago, that he may have loved her. But, hearing it was almost to surreal. At the same time, she felt her heart seem to pulse with joy and happiness. It felt uncharacteristic. It was something she had not felt for a long time, since she had departed from her loving family. She had known for a while that she was in love with Ruka, but was never able to fully grasp the thought. Even though she was proclaimed a genius, she was a novice in the field of love.

Her arms tightened around his neck. "And I love you too. I guess I always have as well…" Her voice was rather muffled by the fabric of Ruka's shirt.

It was a relief to hear that she felt the same. Almost as if a missing part of his soul had been returned to him. He felt complete. Happy. Content.

"Now…" Hotaru muttered, her hold loosening, causing Ruka to do the same and look down at the inventor. "Can you go now? I would like to sleep."

Typical Hotaru. Ruka should have known. He chuckled slightly. "Of course, you could have said so sooner."

"I did." Hotaru muttered in a rather fatigued tone.

"Oh… Right. Guess I forgot about that. Sorry."

"Don't apologize Ruka. There isn't any need to, and apologizes used constantly mean nothing. And it builds bad habits."

Ruka shook his head lightly, and laughed in a bubble way once again. He gently kissed Hotaru's forehead, and pulled his arms away from her, and stood up from his kneeling position. "Good night then." He said, and turned on his heels to leave, even though he knew he would be too overjoyed to sleep tonight.

Then, Ruka realized something once he had reach the door. He quickly turned around, and saw Hotaru, laying her head once again over her folded arms, preparing to fall asleep.

"Hotaru?" Ruka muttered, just loud enough for her to catch. She responded with a simple 'hmm…' He took a few steps forward. "Aren't you going to head to your dorm? Rather then sleep in that… chair?" Ruka asked.

"I don't feel like leaving…" Hotaru muttered. She had been up since five in the morning, to get an early start on her newest invention, and had been up since midnight, when she fell asleep on accident while researching on her computer. Ruka hadn't waited long, and had woken her up only an hour or so later. So, Hotaru was rather tired at this point, and didn't feel like leaving the laboratory to drag herself to her dorm. She was perfectly content staying here.

But Ruka was not. He approached her again, and let out a soft sigh. "Geez. If you keep this up you'll have a bad back before you leave the academy." In one, swift movement, he lifted the Ice Queen into his arms, in a bridal fashion. Hotaru had no chance to stop him from pulling her up, but gave him a swift glare, and muttered his name in a 'threatening' kind of way. But, Ruka was not afraid of either gesture. He spun around and left the room, a particularly happy bounce in his step.

"I'm capable or walking, idiot." Hotaru stated. Sure, they had just confessed their love for each other, but Hotaru Imai was not one to show anyone her weak or vulnerable side, not even Ruka.

"I know you are, but I don't mind taking you to your dorm. Besides, you said you're tired, and I'm the one who has been keeping you awake, so let me make it up to you." There was amusement in this voice as he continued his steady pace towards the Middle School dormitory.

"Fine…" Hotaru murmured, losing the will to press the issue. Her gaze turned away from Ruka, and soften considerably. "Thanks…" She muttered quietly, but Ruka caught her statement. Ruka smiled.

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After a few more moments, they had reached Hotaru's Principal star dorm room. The entire walk had been filled with silence, but rather then an awkward silence, it was a happy thankful silence.

Ruka set Hotaru on her bed, despite the fact that Hotaru had said that she would be fine going into her room. Ruka seemed to take no notice of this. He was far to caring.

Hotaru's gaze lifted up towards Ruka, who stared down at her with his bright eyes and angelic smile. "Thanks again… I guess."

Ruka laughed. "Anytime… Anytime." He leaned forward, and lightly kissed Hotaru, and she lovingly returned his gesture.

Once parted, Ruka stood up straight, spun around, but quickly looked over his shoulder at her. "Good night. I love you." He grinned, teeth showing. Saying such a thing still left a tingling feeling deep inside his chest.

Hotaru smiled, those hers was, as always, a smaller smile, but still filled with happiness and love. "Love you too Ruka." She muttered before turning over in her bed and pulling the covers over her head, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

Ruka left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. A bright smile still shined on his face. It was wonderful. He was so happy he could barely contain himself.

He hadn't expected something like that. He wanted to find a way to stop the Ice Queen, who happened to be one of his few close friends, and her constant picture selling. He never excepted that he would actually find the will to confess, nor did he expect her to have the same sort of feelings.

He hurried himself off to his own room, ready to tell his precious pet rabbit about what had happened. He had to tell someone, right? Even if talking to a rabbit might make him seem rather crazy, he just couldn't contain his joy.

_He always believed revenge was an act of causing someone wrong, but this wrong was justified because the other had done something wrong as well. But now, he knew it wasn't always a 'wrong and wrong' sort of thing. He had stumbled upon something much more sweet. This was a sweet kind of revenge that seemed almost fairy tale like. Maybe Ruka's 'fairy tale' was just beginning, because he was loved by the person he loved most. All because he wanted to find some way to return her 'photo favors'. In the end, he stole her heart, figuratively speaking of course._

_Sweet Revenge. Yes. Ruka was certain this was sweeter than words could describe._

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xD I am so glad this is done. I've been working at a snails pace for a whole week. So many things have been getting in the way of finishing this x3. School, getting ready to take a test to get my driving permit, more school., and trying to comfort a depressed/suicidal person while writing. Yeah… But, the outcome of this story…

It's horrible. I know. I'm sorry. This was the only thing I could think of, and I wanted to complete it because I never complete any stories. Ruka and Hotaru are two of my favorite characters, and they don't get enough love. So, I wanted to contribute. D: To bad this was crap. Anyways… It was fun writing. Guess that is what counts right ^^?

Oh, and I'm also kicking myself for the initial kissing scene. I felt like a pervert or something x-x. This was the first fic I have ever written with a kiss scene, or Fluff of any kind. I struggled… a lot ;^;. But, I got a general idea from reading so many Romance stories x3. Hehe. And just went with the flow. Hotaru is so Out of Character, it's not even funny xD. I do fail at Character. Ruka… I think he was rather OOC as well. x3 Ah well. I hope to write another one soon, and hopefully it WILL be better xD. But first, I have to get some of my depression out (Which I gathered from comforting/listening to a depressed friend rant for hours and days. I'm not complaining about listening, I'll always listen to a friend, but It really caused me to feel depressed x-x) and write my Natsumikan and Luna X ESP Songfic Oneshots xD Fun.

See you guys around :3.

Oh, and I didn't re-read the last half of the fic because it is Midnight and I want sleep xD. So, yes there are errors. Probably lots. And if it seems confusing, that is just because I'm a very confusing writer x3. Hehe.

Oh, and one more thing. I got the idea for this story when one of my classmates (Who I will admit I have a small crush on D:) presented the quote "An Eye for an Eye makes the Whole world blind" By Gandhi. I thought of Ruka... For some reason o3o. And well, this spawned... I'll stop now

Review if you'd like :3.


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